The Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously voted on Tuesday to approve the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, S.222, in accordance with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative.

The act allows whole milk and 2% milk to be put back in school lunches. The legislation will also make it easier for schools to serve nondairy beverages.

Recommended Stories

• Dr. Oz undoes Biden rule requiring emergency abortions
• FDA commissioner commits to review of abortion pill
• Anti-abortion groups try to steer Trump IVF mandate toward MAHA language

Additionally, the committee adopted an amendment Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said would require school food service staff to be educated annually on food allergies, on top of nutrition and food safety programs.

More than a decade after higher-fat milk was removed from school meals to slow obesity in American children and boost their nutritional health, momentum is growing to bring it back.

Some legislators are moving to allow schools to serve whole and 2% milk again, as well as skim and low-fat options. These higher-fat varieties were removed following the 2010 passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which aimed to make school meals include more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, protein, and less sugar, sodium, and fat. 

The Department of Agriculture, which sets nutritional guidelines for national school lunch and breakfast programs, has recommended that Americans older than 2 years old consume low-fat or fat-free dairy products since 1985.

Health experts note that skim and low-fat milk provides children with nutrients such as calcium and vitamin D with less fat and fewer calories.

However, criticism of these guidelines has since grown.

Kennedy has called the federal dietary guidelines requiring low-fat milk antiquated and, in March, encouraged Head Start “programs to switch from low-fat dairy to full-fat/whole milk.”

Supporters of bringing whole milk back, including lawmakers, nutrition experts, and the dairy industry, argue that whole milk has been unfairly attacked. Recent studies suggest children who drink whole milk are less likely to be obese, according to a 2020 review.

Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a Tufts University nutrition expert, told PBS, “Saturated fat in dairy has not been linked to any adverse health outcomes.”

Whole milk advocates also contend that many children don’t enjoy the taste of low-fat milk, so they don’t drink it and miss out on valuable nutrients.

If the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act passes, milk fat would not count toward the saturated fat limits required in school meals. According to Mozaffarian, saturated fatty acids in dairy have a different composition than beef fat, and dairy adds other beneficial compounds that could offset theoretical harms.

Dairy industry advocates have also said participation in school meals programs and milk consumption have declined since whole milk was removed in 2012.

REPUBLICANS AIM TO SHIFT SNAP COSTS TO STATES: WHAT TO KNOW

“Milk is an important part of a balanced diet that delivers critical nutrients students need for growth and development. It makes sense for National School Lunch Program operators to have the authority to offer this healthful beverage to students during the school day,” said Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “I’m proud to lead the committee in advancing this bipartisan solution to expand milk options and encourage increased dairy consumption while supporting America’s hardworking dairy producers.”

The legislation now needs passage in the full Senate.